Run for the hills! Or rather, the mountains

One more week, my friends! One week until I hop on a plane and head to Colorado to get my Rocky Mountain high.

Since my last blog entry, I've continued to train for our hikes in higher altitude. I've deviated from my normal cardio routine; now I run on the treadmill every single time I'm at the gym.

As told in my last blog entry four weeks ago, I did a non-stop run at 5.5 mph for 10 minutes. Since then, I ran for 15 straight, then 20, and yesterday, another 20. This weekend being my second of doing 20 straight, I was quite pleased with myself. (Billy seemed impressed as well.) I then turned the speed down to 3.2 mph and walked for a few minutes.

In the middle of running, I had to decide whether to stop at 20 or try for 25. It's funny. I thought that if I did make it to 25 now, then next time I'd be under pressure to do it for 30 minutes. And if I failed to do 30, I might end up settling for less in the future. Sabotaging my routine. Dumbing it down.

I didn't want to fail so early. So I stopped at 20. For now.

I came up with this plan for myself: I would run for 20 minutes for four weeks, then do 25 for four weeks, then eventually build up my time until i reach my upper limit. Go beyond it, even. Or... what if next week, I up my speed to, say 5.7 mph, and start at 10 minutes once again? Then gradually increase both my speed and my endurance.

Funny how I thought up a plan to circumvent failure. I just would have been so disappointed in myself. I never expected to be able to run this well so soon.

Runner's World magazine claims that inserting a few one-minute sprints into a run can build one's endurance, so I've integrated that into my routine as well. Yesterday, I finished off with a sprint at 7.0 mph for 60 seconds. My blood was pounding in my head. My heart rate was at 172. I exhaled deep, labored breaths as the treadmill slowed down sooo not fast enough. Hurry up, 3.2. Hurry up!

I spent about 40 minutes on the treadmill that day. I then did 10 minutes on the stairmaster, then proceeded to the weight machines to work on my legs. Some might groan at the effort, but I do this for my own sake. Hiking uphill in higher altitude with a pack (although just a daypack this time) can be immensely difficult in steep terrain. At times in the past, it has been really hard on my heart.

In the last four weeks, I've discovered that I actually enjoy running. I guess it shouldn't be surprising. I was good at track in both high school and college. I remember some running advice from Lara, my best friend in high school, who was a distance runner on our track team: set your pace at the start and stick with it; and DON'T STOP RUNNING.

I used to run because I had to. Now I do it to challenge myself, not just physically, but mentally as well. For as Billy likes to say, overcoming fatigue in one's mind alone is half the battle.